It can be terribly frustrating for Notary Signing Agents (NSA), especially newer NSA's, when it comes to slower paying and non-paying Signing Agencies. One of the things Notary Stars does to help this is offering two really nice features like our Signing Agency Blacklist and our Signing Agency Reviews for our members. The best defense for all of us is to try to avoid bad Signing Agencies. However, there is still work that needs to be done on the Notary Signing Agent's side to know a few things like:
When To Complain
No matter what you think or feel you can only begin a complaint with a Signing Agency when the payment terms you've agreed to are passed. Until that day there is absolutely no argument that you can make that will make that Signing Agency or Title Company look bad to any of their clients as it's easily provable that you are just disgruntled and out of line. So, you truly need to make sure you are outside of your payment terms.
If your complaint is that a company is slow to pay but they do pay within their payment terms, there is no valid complaint to be made and only a personal opinion. If you do not wish to accept a company's payment terms you can simply choose not to work with them or only work with them when you feel that it's a good fit (like filling in your calendar gaps). Try not to burn bridges with slow paying companies because you'll need them if you wind up in "Amrock Jail," or during a downturned market.
We suggest as soon as you create a client in your accounting software that you set their payment terms up, so you know when their invoices are due by their promise to pay by dates. And, of course, you always need to keep that W9 you have updated!
How To Complain
Per the Signing Agent Code of Conduct we all agree to when we become a Certified Signing Agent through the National Notary Assocation- we are not allowed to complain, or seek payment, from any party except the assigning party. Title and Escrow companies are not going to write a second check and will always insist you contact the Signing Agency they contracted. This is because the funds are generally pulled from the transaction at the time of closing and they can't charge that client again. You can, however, make an inquiry of the party that contracted the assigning party to see if the payment for your order has been made. Unfortunately, this is all you can ask or confirm, and we suggest you do no more than that! But that gives you enough information to know if the company you need payment from should have the funds they owe you. Please do not take it any further than just asking for confirmation if payment has been issued... that could be considered harassment.
If your payment has been issued, and only if you are outside of the agreed payment terms, then you can send a demand letter. We do suggest your letter to be polite and understanding. Example:
Dear Assigning Party,
I have realized we are now outside of the payment terms we agreed to for payment and I am requesting either payment be rendered, or a response letting me know why my payment is late, or when it will be sent. I am willing to work with you on payment if needed, however, I would appreciate one of these three types of responses within 7 business days.
Who To Complain To
Every single State has individual laws on how to follow up on bad debt and you absolutely must follow these laws or else you could wind up in big trouble. This is something you should research on your own, but these little simple rules should help you.
You should only call or email inside their posted business hours and if they aren't posted then use 9 am to 5 pm to ensure that you are inside of the law.
You should also only make calls or emails on business days, never on weekends!
Always be polite.
Do not be excessive or make threats.
Keep a log or proof of your attempts of calls by screenshotting your attempts or use your phone records when the time comes to show you've made a healthy positive effort to collect.
Do not practice legal jargon if you are not an attorney! Even if you know a law you should not quote the law or try to use it. Only an Attorney working for you should do that. If you ever did go to court with the entity this could have your case dismissed.
Only follow up after the payment terms are broken, then give a time to respond, and only send three payment demands maximum 30 days apart. If you State, you will take action such as reporting to the credit agencies or attorney generals' offices you must follow through with it. Making empty threats can also have cases dismissed or get you into trouble for making threats. BELIEVE US, WE LOOKED INTO THIS CLOSELY!
Where To Complain
You start first with the assigning party.
You can also use services like Legal Shield, but we haven't seen much luck from it actually working here at Notary Stars (and yes, we tested how it works).
Leaving Google and Yelp Reviews won't actually help you because all of these reviews will be removed if the party you leave the review about reports you as an employee or contractor which is outside the terms of those review sites that you also agree to when posting reviews (it's all in the fine print).
Leaving post in Notary Cafe, Notary Rotary, and Notary Forums may alert other Notaries but it won't help you get payment either. To be honest, the clients that hire Signing Agencies won't see these post.
The biggest message you can send after three polite attempts is to contact the Attorney General's Office to inform them about the company in the State where the company resides or is registered. This can prevent companies from continuing to operate if they are hurting others or prevent them from starting a new business with a new name in the future. Each State has an Attorney General's office that will hear you complaints and will investigate companies that don't pay their contractors.
You can encourage other Notaries with the same problem to do the same.
If you are interested in watching the mentoring session where we went over this LIVE you can watch the replay at:
Checkout the following resources that go with this article: Read the Blog: https://www.notarystars.com/blog/are-... Blacklist of Bad Signing Agencies (Members Only): https://www.notarystars.com/blacklist... Signing Agency Reviews (Members Only): https://www.notarystars.com/company_r... Topics from this video: Collecting on unpaid invoices Notarize 24/7 - California has stopped paying Cali Attorney General contact info Insurance for Bad debt? Write-off Bad Debt Illegal requests from Signing Service Hybrid Certificates
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